FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)
How many states is the
PHClinic software
installed in?
When can I get the
PHClinic software
installed?
Who benefits from the
PHClinic software?
Is PHClinic your only software product?
How can I back up my information?
What are the different PHClinic releases and when do they come out?
Do you have any questions for us? Please e-mail your comments and questions to us at support@kiphs.com
A: Progress is the name of the Software Development and Database Tool that PHClinic is written in. For a detailed explanation of it, please go here.
Q:
How many states is the PHClinic software
installed?
A: That's an easy one. The current version is installed in 100+ locations in five states. We have an additional 15 sites in these states that have approved contract and are awaiting installation.
Q:
When can I get the PHClinic software
installed?
A: The process of acquiring our software begins with a site survey. Contact us at kiphs@kiphs.com.
Q:
Who benefits from the PHClinic software?
A: Everybody, we hope, but mainly the health departments that will be using the software. So many designs and implementations these days focus on the state level or just add more duties onto the already busy clerks running the health departments. Our goal is to make our software a tool for the clerks, that will also supply the needed information at the managerial and state levels without any unnecessary work.
Q:
Is PHClinic your only software product?
A: No! We are committed to planned growth of the PHClinic software. However, we have several companion products to PHClinic in development. Our mission is to focus on public health and related software projects. We also want to establish a strong foundation for our products. So, we have begun our development with a clinic management program. We have many exciting plans in development that will take us to the next level of public health.
Q: What are the different releases and when do they come out?
A:
Our releases are classified as follows:
Major - These are large changes to the
look/feel of the software, as well as database changes that are needed to enhance
the existing functionality, or add new functionality to the system.
Minor - These are releases that contain
smaller enhancements or additions, especially those that don't require changes
to the database structure. These releases are tentatively scheduled so that
they are about a month apart.
Mini - These are very small releases that
contain fixes or new changes that are stopping clients from processing their
data, or new programs that are needed under certain time constraints. These are
usually client specific requests.
The release number represents what type of release it is. It can be broken down as: (Revision.Major.Minor.Mini). For example, the release 5.0.19.1 can be thought of as being our 5th Revision of the software, with no major changes made to it yet, but 19 Minor releases made since the last Major release, and 1 Mini release made since the last Minor was released.
When a Minor is released, it contains all changes/additions up to that point.
When a Mini is released, it contains only the changes/additions that were
specifically needed. Subsequent Mini releases (ex. 5.0.19.6) will contain all
files from the previous Mini release as well (5.0.19.5), plus the new files
needed. Then, when the next Minor is released, it will contain other
changes/additions, plus everything that was in any previous Mini releases.
In other words, Mini releases are always a subset of the Minor releases, they
are just released quicker sometimes because some of our clients are under
specific time requirements, and they need to have certain programs before the
next Minor is going to be released.
Previously we have been releasing Minor releases with only those files that have changed since the previous Minor release. There have been several clients, however, that have not downloaded the Minor release files, and have therefore missed out on important changes. This previous practice was started a few years ago to ease in the download times of the files. Because technology has advanced so rapidly, and most people have high-speed connections now, we will change to the practice of having the Minor release contain the full set of source code. So the previous downloads of Full and Minor will now be combined into the same download.